PERSONAL COMPUTERS

PERSONAL COMPUTERS; Powerbooks Give Macintosh Cause for Optimism

By PETER H. LEWIS

Published: July 7, 1998

THE largest gathering of Apple Macintosh fans on the East Coast begins tomorrow in Manhattan, and they have several reasons to be optimistic after more than a year of darkness and turmoil. Led by co-founder Steven P. Jobs, Apple appears to have stabilized its management team, cut costs, made some money, halted a precipitous decline in market share, outlined (at last) a clear path for its Mac operating system, and streamlined and reinvigorated its product lineup.

The company is not out of the woods yet, of course. Apple's decision last year to kill the Macintosh clone market may have boosted Apple's financial prospects, but it was of no benefit to consumers and it contributed to the overall decline in market share for the Macintosh operating system. (Even the Palm Pilot operating system and Windows 3.1 outsold the Mac OS last year.)

Worse, the most recent customer loyalty survey by the research group ZD Market Intelligence, which measures the percentage of computer owners who say they would buy the same brand again, determined that Apple had lost its perennial perch in first place. Apple slid to third, behind Gateway and the surprisingly strong Hewlett-Packard. Apple's decline was most pronounced in the home computer market.

Still, having the third-highest level of customer satisfaction among more than 200 computer companies is an admirable achievement. Apple executives say the company has a plan to win back the affection, and dollars, of the home and small business market. Perhaps their strategy will be revealed this week at the Macworld conference.

One of the best reasons for optimism among the Macintosh faithful is the new Macintosh Powerbook G3, which comes in a variety of configurations and prices ranging from $2,300 to more than $6,000. Along with the Jetsons-style iMac that is to go on sale next month, the Powerbook G3 is tangible evidence that Apple has regained its flair as a leader in innovative computer design.

Big and beautiful, the Powerbook G3 is perhaps the first portable computer that warrants being called sensual. With its not-so-subtle curves and a mixture of textures, including one that feels vaguely like rubber and evokes flesh, the Macintosh Powerbook G3 is the most distinctive notebook on the market.

But visual and tactile appeal are not the Powerbook G3's only strengths. It also has brains. In the case of the top models in the new Powerbook G3 line there is enough processing power to persuade some Macintosh users to consider it as a replacement for their desktop machines.

Apple boasts that its Power PC G3 RISC-based notebooks will outperform any Intel Pentium II-based notebooks, and many Pentium desktop computers as well. Reviewers confirm that in most cases the Powerbooks clobber the competition.

We tested an upper-middle-of-the-line model, which was built around a 250-MHz Power PC chip, a 13.3-inch active matrix XGA color display, 32 megabytes of SDRAM memory, 4MB of special graphics memory, a 4-gigabyte hard disk drive, removable CD-ROM and diskette drives, a 56K internal modem, and a lithium-ion battery. It was built in Ireland.

All of the new Powerbooks are substantially larger than the earlier Powerbooks they replaced -- at least an inch deeper and wider. (The new Powerbook G3 is not to be confused with Apple's old Powerbook G3, which was smaller, less powerful and less distinctively styled. Why Apple chose to recycle the name is one of the company's many mysteries.) The weight, between 7.5 and 8 pounds when fully tricked out, remains the same.

The size and weight disqualify the Powerbook G3 as a good choice for road warriors who plan to lug the computer around all day and work while sitting in coach. (Is there such a thing as carpal tunnel shoulder?)

It just will not fit on a standard airline fold-down tray. So, put a pillow on your lap and make it a true laptop, upgrade yourself to first class -- if you can afford the $6,000 version, it deserves to be shown off up front anyway -- or put the computer away and relax.

On the other hand, the Powerbook's formidable size means it is more acceptable as a desktop computer replacement. The keyboard is quite nice, with good key touch and spacing. And then there is the screen.

Forget the dismal, 12.1-inch, passive-matrix screen of the cheapest, 233-MHz Powerbook, unless your budget has no flexibility. The larger screens of the Powerbook line, including the 13.3-inch model we tested and the practically cinematic 14.1-inch model, are very impressive and worth the extra money. Besides offering a larger viewing area, they come with added video memory and a graphics accelerator, and a superior resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels (XGA). Powerbooks with the larger screens also have higher-resolution S-video output, which allows computer-generated graphics to be sent to S-video-equipped TV sets, VCR's and camcorders.

The Powerbooks are most impressive at the high end of the line, including the 250-MHz and 292-MHz models. Both of these have faster internal data pathways (an 83-MHz system bus, in geek parlance) and a further booster rocket called a 1MB backside cache, features that are lacking on the slower Powerbook.

But as strong as the new Powerbook G3 models are, they are unlikely on their own merits to entice longtime Windows users to convert to the superior Macintosh operating system. Apple could score more points, and increase the chances of winning back customers who have defected to the Microsoft monopoly, by including Windows emulation software as standard equipment on its Powerbooks.

So, Apple now has a strong lineup on the top decks of its product line, with its G3-based desktop and Powerbook machines. Now it faces the tough challenge of winning back customers at the low end, where it lacks compelling products. Tomorrow, Apple will begin the campaign to promote the G3-based iMac, which the company calls the most revolutionary Macintosh since, well, the Macintosh itself.

More information is available from Apple Computer Inc. at www.Apple.com.